How an ordinary guy became interested and got started in Real Estate

Before My Real Estate Journey started

The beginnings of my interest in Real Estate started, I would say, in late 2017 when I decided to buy my very first personal home. At this time, I was just doing what I thought was the right thing and moved my new family, including our new baby girl that was to come, into a single family residence. I didn't know what I was doing when searching for a home, but I knew I could at least find some information out there to get started, so I began doing my research.

During this time I was developing an entrepreneurial mindset, as I was getting prepared for my newborn. I wanted an actual career, in order to provide a better and more comfortable living for my young family, instead of working at a call center (which was my employment at the time) trading my time for money. I was tired of working a mediocre job, feeling like I wasn't contributing to anything and not using my time productively. Hence, I did whatever I could in my free time to learn about business, finances, social media and marketing. I strongly believed that learning these things will eventually help me get out of the rat race.

My background in Real Estate was almost non-existent, as I was brought up not knowing much about it or educated in this topic. Everything I learned about buying a home up to this point, I learned watching videos on Youtube and conducting a Google search. This is sort of what got my mind going about Real Estate investing, however, I still had very little interest in it. At least not enough interest to get me going and get started on my journey. It was all just in the back of my mind and I thought “maybe one day”.

In the past, even prior to purchasing my first home, my Dad would hound me about purchasing a house for myself, because he thought it would be better to “spend your money on a home you own, then to waste your money on rent”, but at the time I didn't take heed. I didn't think it was a necessity until I had a family of my own. To me it would just be a waste of money, because I would be by myself in a home that I would be paying on my own. In my mind, I figured it's better to just rent and not have to worry about all the bills and all the issues it could have. I never really looked at Real Estate as an investment, but more as a burden.

Getting laid off from my job

In an effort to begin my entrepreneurial journey and pursue my dream of quitting my 9-5 job, my Father and I started a third party Amazon company in early 2018. I worked on this business part time while employed full time at the call center where I spent nearly 10 years working. Through this new venture, I was learning how to run a business and how to be an entrepreneur. The following year I got laid off from my full-time job at the call center, so I was desperate, trying to figure out any way I can to make some money and support my family. At the same time I was happy I got laid off, because it gave me an opportunity to start fresh and discover what I really want to do in life.

The Amazon business was not yet in a place where it could pay the bills, so I had to make money from an Uber driving side gig I picked up at the time, before I got laid off. In my mind, the only option I had was to hustle and do some freelancing work, because I decided not to go back to a 9-5 job. I even began learning about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and decided to start a company, providing SEO services to local businesses in my area. At this time, I was trying anything I could to make some money and support my family.

The moment my mind changed

For a while, even before I was laid off, I was scraping the internet to try to find any videos or articles that would give me the secret to making money online and become financially free. Until one day I came across a video on Youtube from Brian Rose of London Real, interviewing Robert Kiyosaki. The title of this video was "You will never be poor again - start doing this today!!". This title really caught my attention and stood out amongst all the titles that came up, as I was looking for ways to not stay poor and be financially independent. Watching this video became a pivotal moment for me in my life and caused a shift in my mind about finances, the education system in America and Real Estate.

I decided to watch more of Robert Kyosaki’s videos and started developing a greater interest in Real Estate Investing. I saw that he had a “Rich dad, poor dad” event near my area, so I decided to go to learn more about it. I then attended several other events in which I was introduced to many different concepts, but the one concept that really stood out to me was wholeselling. Wholeselling seemed like something I could do, since I enjoyed marketing and did not require any money out of pocket, so I began searching for more information about this concept. I also came across the concept of acquiring Real Estate with no money down and using OPM (Other People's Money). I thought since I have no money, this would be a great way for me to begin my Real Estate journey.

The more I learned, the more I became interested and passionate about Real Estate. Real Estate did not just become a pastime or something I just wanted to learn, like everything else I was learning at the time. It became something I revolved my life around and something I began creating future goals towards. I realized that Real Estate was my ticket to becoming financially free and achieving the life I wanted for my family.

The school of Real Estate

I began calling my Real Estate agent at the time who helped me acquire my personal home to ask him questions about how I should start. I also reached out to people who I knew were into Real Estate and my previous landlord for advice. I kept watching more videos and even listened to podcasts from different investors I came across on the internet. Later I found the bigger pockets podcast and began listening to every show I could. I began to absorb all the content provided in these podcasts during my Uber rides, so I would listen to about 6+ hours of content per day. I learned on these podcasts that I should attend local REIA meetings in my area to meet other investors and learn from them, so that's what I did. I went to every meeting I could, while looking for real estate around my area to invest in.

I thought that maybe I could wholesell some of these properties, but then later found out that it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. Listening to other investors during the meetings I was going to and investors in the podcast made me then decide that I was approaching real estate the wrong way. That maybe instead of wholeselling, I should make rental properties my focus and think about long term investing, instead of making quick cash.

I didn't know how I was going to invest in rental properties, since I didn't have any substantial amount of money saved up (Like a lot of successful investors have) to start with and I didnt have a W2 job. I just knew that based on all the concepts that I learned and the experience other people shared on the podcasts, that it could be possible to invest, even in my situation. So I began saving any money I could save from my Uber rides and continued my search for investment properties by driving for dollars and searching through different sites online, just as I learned from the podcasts I was listening to.

Conclusion

I continued doing this until I found a property on Craigslist near my area that fit my needs. Without knowing hardly anything about real estate, with very little money in my pockets and with much fear, I inquired about this property. I eventually purchased the property and began my journey in Real Estate. I then realized that Getting into a property wasn't so hard and began to understand that the only thing holding anyone back from pursuing their dreams in Real Estate is our mentality.

Without any background experience in Real Estate and without any money in my pocket, I was able to pick up my first property. I figured that if I was able to purchase my first investment property, that this can be done by anyone if they have the right mind and pursue what they want without making excuses.